Producer Alan Ball hopes viewers bite into humor of ‘True Blood’

from the Boston Herald

Executive producer Alan Ball doesn’t want viewers to take his HBO series “True Blood” too seriously.

“There’s a big part of the show that’s very much like one of those old-fashioned Saturday matinee serials with the cliffhangers and everything,” Ball said during a recent conference call with reporters.

“No matter how interesting and complicated and real, the dynamics of human behavior that the show explores are ultimately its thrill ride.”

When the drama about vampires in Louisiana premiered last year, many speculated that the show was a metaphor for society’s treatment of homosexuals.

“I would say to look at the vampires on the show as a metaphor for gays and lesbians is so simple and so easy, it’s kind of lazy,” Ball said. “Ultimately, I do have to say, ‘Come on, they’re vampires.’ They’re not real. None of it is supposed to be real or supposed to represent anything specific, and I just hope people can remember that. It can’t be taken that seriously. It is supposed to be fun.”

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